Sweet Love
by greys.endoftheworld
Summary: This is a cute, little one-shot starring Miranda and Ben and how they handle their home life including their marriage and children. It's set in the future and has minor dialogue from Season 12. Author's Note: I am working on "Romancing Dr. Bailey". This is just something that I had in queue. XD Please enjoy!


**Sweet Love**

"I swear to God, little girl, get your butt up those stairs!" Miranda said pointing to the eighteen stairs that would lead, Tyra, her youngest child, to her room. The girl started to stomp off, blowing air through her nose. "And go quietly, Tyra!"

"What is all the damn noise?" Ben said coming out of the kitchen. If Miranda wasn't so mad, she would have been delighted to see her husband wearing an apron and carrying a sizzling pan. But she was pissed. Miranda held up her hand, signaling that he needed to give her a second. He walked back into the kitchen and returned a minute later. "Miranda, what happened? Where's Tyra?"

"She'd better be in her room!" Miranda said loudly.

"Honey, sit down," Ben urged her. She did as she was told, making her way to the nearest sofa. He moved behind her and rubbed her shoulders. He kissed her neck, his beard scratching her a little. "Now, tell me what happened before I flip out."

"I'm attacking my stack of paperwork and I get a call from Laurie Stevens saying that she saw our 14-year old at the movies." Ben pushed deeper into her shoulders. "And I say to her, I go, you know: 'Oh, no, ma'am, you must be mistaken; it's one o'clock in the afternoon, my daughter is at school. In Phys Ed, to be exact.'"

"And?"

"And she goes, 'Miranda, I know what Tyra looks like and she just walked into theatre number six at Cascade Theaters in South Pine.'"

"That's two towns away!" Ben dropped his hands from her shoulders and moved toward the stairs.

"Shoulders," Miranda said. His hands found their way back to her shoulders. "Help me take off my jacket, please." She used her jacket as a distraction, trying to soothe him. As heated as she was, she knew that he was about to hit the ceiling. When it came to their kids, Ben didn't know "calm". He was definitely the most overprotective between the two of them. Miranda grabbed his hands and pulled him down next to her. She grabbed his face and pulled him in for a kiss, tasting him. "Mmm, you're making lasagna?"

"Yes, baby," he said kissing her again. They were quiet. "There's more, isn't it?"

"She skipped last week, too."

"What?" He groaned. "Miranda, what the hell?"

"I don't know, Ben. She said…"

"She said what?"

"She forged my name on a note claiming that she couldn't take P.E."

"I told you that you needed to talk to her."

"Don't even, Benjamin Warren! I try to make time to talk to her every day."

"Well, _trying_ is not working. If you spent half as much time with her as you do at the hospital, maybe…"

"Seriously?!" She screeched. It came out a little more defensive than she meant it to. Miranda changed gears. "You're going to blame this on me?" _Good_ , _Miranda_. Her voice was nice and easy. She knew it didn't do either one of them or their daughter any good to start a fight; especially one that had been brewing for a while. Was she really not spending enough time at home? Honestly, she didn't think she would have to. As Chief of Surgery of Grey Sloan Memorial, Miranda Bailey thought that she'd be finish childrearing right about now. Instead, she had a 14-year old. It was great to finally have another girl around and she was finally getting to the point where her problems were interesting, but, Lord, did that one give her fits. Her oldest son, Tuck, was 23 and in his last year of college. She smiled thinking about how far she'd come as a parent and how far she and Ben had come as a couple. It was a long and worthwhile journey that she was so glad to be on. "Really?"

"No, of course not, but you could—" Miranda stood up, feeling her bones ache a little. She walked up the stairs to their master bedroom. Inside of her closet, she took a deep breath, fighting off the tears that came with a tough day of not getting to cut—again. Being a surgeon meant all she wanted to do was cut, but being Chief meant that some days she didn't get to because she had to supervise other cutters. But not cutting drove her crazy. On top of that, she had teenager issues. And to top it all off, now she was having issues with Ben. She hated that more than anything because he was the one she wanted to go to him when she had problems, not to create them. "Miranda!" Ben came through the door, his face fallen.

"Yes, Benjamin," she said a little coldly.

He moved behind her and touched her waist, putting his face onto her shoulders making her shudder. His body against hers always made her feel a little better. Anytime they touched was just like the first time that he'd put his lips on her in his old apartment all those years ago, kissing her deeply and creating _Miranda and Ben_. A whole lifetime. "Baby, can we just…"

Miranda kicked off her shoes and felt the awesome relief of her feet spreading on their beautiful hardwood floors. She exhaled. "You were mean. Just now. You were an ass."

"I'm sorry, okay? There's no excuse."

"To suggest that it's my fault or my job's that _our_ daughter is skipping school. That's low; even for you, as of late." Miranda unzipped her skirt, tugging it over her hips. Then, she pulled off her shirt, hanging both items up on the door. Ben made a noise as she moved around in her underwear. He started to speak, but the door opening stopped him. "Are you allergic to knocking, young lady?" Neither one of them turned around.

"I was just listening by the door." Ben kissed the side of Miranda's head and let her go. She picked up her robe from the bed and put it on. "It's not mom's fault."

"Yeah, I know that," he said rubbing his head. He sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the space next to him. The girl walked in looking every bit like her mother and every bit like her father, brown skin, brown eyes, black hair, a gorgeous smile and more curves and confidence than Miranda had at that age. She sat down and pulled her leg up. "What are you doing, Ty-Ty?"

"No, do not _Ty-Ty_ her," Miranda said putting up a finger. "Ty-Ty is about to be grounded for a very long time."

Ben ignored her. "Firstly, are you alright?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, good. Did something happen?"

"No."

"Tyra Elena," Ben said sternly. They'd named Tyra after her mother. Elena Bailey had been gone for five years, but there wasn't a day that went by that she didn't think of her. And hearing her name always made Miranda smile.

"Yes, sir?"

"Speak."

"I don't like P.E.," she said looking from one parent to the other.

Miranda pursed her lips. "You love sports, baby."

"And you gotta come better than that," Ben told her. "Did something happen in P.E.?"

"I just don't feel comfortable. There's this guy in my class—"

"Did he touch you?" Ben asked with wide eyes.

"NO! Daddy, no. Nothing like that," Tyra said shaking her head.

"Baby, stop guessing, please. Let her talk," Miranda said as she sat down on the other side of their daughter. "Keep going, Tyra."

"He always, like, makes fun of me and talks about m-my body and stuff. And he's always pulling my book bag. I tell him to stop and he does, but… then he goes back to doing it. He's annoying." The girl stopped talking and bit her lip.

"We're going to set up a meeting with your teacher and the principal and this kid and his parents and get to the bottom of this," Ben said before Miranda could say anything. Tyra nodded. "And you're grounded for, how many classes did you miss?"

"Two," Tyra said scrunching up her face.

"Then two weeks," Miranda said. Tyra's eyes started to water. "Put the tears away. You should have told one of us. Or your teacher."

"I told her!" Tyra argued.

"And?" Miranda said rubbing her eyes. She was so tired.

"She talked to him and that's when he stopped, but today, he kept touching my book bag trying to make everybody laugh and I yelled at him and he started making fun of me, so I left."

Ben and Miranda sighed simultaneously. "And no one stopped you?" Ben asked. Their daughter shook her head.

"Where'd you go last week when you skipped?" Miranda said trying to make sense of everything.

"I just stayed in the basement of the school until the next period." Miranda shared a look with her husband over their daughter's head. "I saw these older girls coming back and I asked them if I could go with them the next time I had gym."

"What?" Ben scratched his head.

"They recognized me. One of their sisters used to date Tuck, so they said okay." Miranda sighed. "I didn't want to cause trouble; I just wanted to get away from him."

"Go to your room, Tyra," Miranda said. She'd heard enough. "Homework. Now." Tyra slinked out of the room. When she was gone, Miranda fell back on the bed. Ben lay next to her. "What are we going to do?" She asked her husband.

"I told you what we're going to do."

"That's about the boy and Tyra. I mean about Tyra. If she's ditching for… for a student annoying her, what is she going to do about a teacher? Or us?"

"Relax."

"No, no!"

"Miranda."

"Maybe she doesn't feel like she can trust me. Maybe it is my fault."

Ben turned to her and kissed her head. "I'm an idiot. Of course it's not your fault. I spoke without thinking." She shrugged. "Forgive me?"

"I don't know," she pouted. "Who else is at fault if not me?"

"Tyra," Ben said with a laugh.

"Oh please! Please don't act like you've never ditched school," she said turning to him and kissing his lips. "I sure as hell can't."

"What? I went to a small, Catholic school, we weren't allowed to do that." Ben poked her. "Wait… you were a little delinquent?" He laughed as he pulled Miranda on top of him and caressed her thighs, pushing back her robe. "I am so very sorry."

"Mmmhmm." She let him kiss her and slip a finger into her panties. She moaned. "No, you have been a pain in my aaaaahh. Stop," she whispered.

"You really want me to stop?" Ben said in her ear. Miranda smiled and kissed him deeply. "Can we move further up the bed?"

"Dad! The lasagna!" Tyra said banging on the door.

"Oh shit," Ben shouted. He kissed Miranda again and pushed her off of him gently.

Miranda watched him go, giggling. She looked up into the face of Tyra while tying her robe. Miranda gestured for the girl to come back into the room. "Tyra…"

"I know. I was wrong, but—"

"You know we can talk, Tyra. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I was going to. I thought it was just a one-time whatever, but he—"

"What's his name?" Miranda asked.

Tyra smiled a little. "Kevin."

"Kevin."

"Yeah, Kevin just kept bothering me."

The surgeon watched as her daughter tried not to smile while telling her story. "Listen to me."

"Yes, ma'am."

"When you tell someone 'no' or to 'stop,' they should stop. But, I think that Kevin likes you, so he'll probably continue to be a little jerk because he can't articulate his feelings for you. He just wants for you to give him some attention. However, you are—listen to me closely, you are absolutely not obligated to. And if you really want him to stop, you need to tell him to and if he doesn't stop, you tell us and your teacher."

"Yes, ma'am," Tyra repeated.

"But ditching school is not how you fix it or deal with it."

"Okay," Tyra repeated.

Miranda pulled the girl into her arms. "So do you like Kevin?"

"He is so immature. And always messing me with me. He basically got me grounded." Tyra rolled her eyes.

"You liiiiiike him!" Miranda laughed. Her laughter got louder when she remembered her good friend and fellow surgeon, Callie Torres, saying the same thing to her about Ben. At that time, Miranda had been convincing herself that the feelings that she had for Ben weren't real. That she wasn't supposed to have any interest in any other men after her first husband. But, she had failed—terribly.

"I don't… think I do?" Tyra said smiling. Miranda put on comfortable clothes as the two of them kept talking. Ben came back in the room.

"Lasagna's burnt. We have to go out for dinner."

"Awww," the girls moaned. Ben was a really good cook. And Miranda could practically taste his lasagna, especially after a day like today.

"I'm sorry," he said looking at his wife and daughter. They pouted. "I'm kidding. It's about finished."

"Benjamin!" Miranda said throwing a pillow at him.

"And I have another surprise for you two."

"What is it, daddy?" Tyra said standing up and going over to the huge mirror hanging over her parents' dresser. Ben opened the door some more and a taller, lankier man walked through the door. The man was bum-rushed by Tyra. They hugged. "Tuck!"

"Hey, Baby," Tuck said kissing the top of the girl's head calling the girl the nickname he'd given her when he was younger and had met her for the first time. He'd been so excited to have a younger sibling. And even though they were more than a few years apart, he adored her. "I'm gonna beat you up."

"Dad told you?" Tyra said trying to pull away as Tuck tightened his grip and rubbed her head. "Let go!"

"Yes. He did. We'll talk later." He released her and she ran to the mirror to fix her hair, grumbling.

"Do I get a hug?" Miranda asked. "I'm only the woman who gave you life."

"And you only remind me every day," Tuck said smiling. With two long steps, he moved beside Miranda and hugged her. "Hey, mama."

Miranda held onto him and smoothed his back. Damn near twice her height, Tuck was the spitting image of his father. He kissed her cheek and she held his face and looked into his eyes. All her. She kissed his other cheek and then used her thumb to wipe away her lipstick from his skin. "Don't 'hey, mama' me. Why didn't you tell us you were coming?"

"I told dad," Tuck said lying back on the bed.

Miranda looked at her husband and shook her head. "So many secrets. Your dad never tells me anything."

Ben shrugged and crossed his arms. "Are we gonna eat?"

"Yes," the rest of them chorused.

After dinner, the four of them sat around in the den eating pie and ice cream while yelling at the TV watching "Family Feud". Two episodes into what was supposed to be an eight-episode marathon, Miranda and Ben retired up the stairs. It was a little warm in the room so Miranda pulled off her yoga pants and climbed into bed. Ben scooted behind her. "That wasn't an invitation."

"Fine."

"Okay then." He grunted. "So back up because I'm still mad at you."

"But what about before? You had forgiven me," he said, his voice getting high. He climbed over her so they were face to face.

"No, I was going to let you pleasure me, but now I'm mad again."

"Miranda, I'm sorry," he said sticking out his bottom lip.

"If only that took back what you said. Oh, wait… it doesn't!" She said raising her voice. "You hurt me."

"I am so sorry. Like I said before, there's no reason. I was just upset."

"So was I, but I didn't blame you." Ben started to speak, but she cut him off. "I wouldn't blame you! I might blame _us_ , but I'd never put it all on you."

He rubbed his head and turned on the lamp near her side of the bed. "Okay. But you do have to spend time with her, Miranda. More time. She's in high school and the problems are getting more serious. She needs you."

"I know that, Ben Warren," she said trying to keep her voice calm. "And what about you?'

"What?"

"You two used to hang out all of the time. But when she stopped soccer, that was it?" She hated bringing that up, but she needed some ammo.

She watched him blush. "Miranda…"

"No. If you want me to admit to blame, then you take some, too, ass!"

"Are you done? Because we're not even supposed to be fighting in the bedroom."

"You're right," she admitted. Both of them were surgeons and worked in the same place all day and then came home to each other; sometimes, it was almost too much. So, they decided that they wouldn't fight in the bedroom. The bedroom would be the place where they'd come together and not fall apart. "So go and sleep on the sofa."

Ben squinted at her. "Are you serious?" She nodded and turned over. Miranda yawned as Ben touched her butt. "You're serious?" He whispered into her ear making her shiver.

"Don't think you can make me change my mind by making love to me."

"So you'll give me some?" Ben laughed. Miranda resisted the urge to smile. There was a knock on the door. She turned on her back and he dropped his head onto her stomach.

Their kids were standing at the door. "Y'all are gonna fight all night?" A shirtless Tuck asked while scratching his chest.

Miranda shrugged her shoulders as Ben said: "No, because when you two leave our threshold and close our door, we'll go back to our foreplay." Miranda laughed as Tyra and Tuck screwed up their faces. "I'm done fighting for the night."

"I'm not," Miranda told him. He kissed her stomach, stirring the butterflies.

"Well, done or not, Ty-Ty has something to say," Tuck told them yawning.

Tuck shoved her gently into the room. "I-I'm sorry."

Miranda waited for her daughter to say something else. They all stared at the girl. "You're sorry? Oh, that was heartfelt, wasn't it, baby?" Miranda looked at her husband.

"Oh, yes. The most heartfelt apology I've ever heard in my life," Ben answered.

"So believable." Ben agreed as they both sat up and looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"I told you they wouldn't accept," Tyra said turning to her older brother

"You didn't apologize properly," Tuck said out of the corner of his mouth.

The girl sighed loudly. "I am so sorry for skipping class and doing stuff that I'm not supposed to do and not… not telling you about school and stuff. And I apologize."

Ben looked up at Miranda. She nodded. "I accept," Miranda told her and held out her arms. Tyra walked into them and they hugged.

Ben pulled the girl down and kissed her cheek. "Love you, Ty-Ty."

"And can you two please stop arguing?" Tuck said jumping back into the conversation. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

"This is our house, we'll fight if we want," Ben said.

"They were fighting earlier," Tyra told Tuck.

"Really?" Tuck looked at his mother. "About what?"

"Me," Tyra said with a smile.

"You guys never fought over me!" Tuck said climbing onto the bed. At 23, Miranda could still look into his eyes and see his 7-year old and 13-year old selves.

"Ha!" Ben said. "Have you ever known your mother not to fight over anything?" Tuck, Tyra and Ben laughed.

"The three of you get on my nerves," she said kicking her husband.

"Ow!" He said and he pinched her side.

"Damn you!" She rubbed her skin. "And we used to fight about you often," Miranda told Tuck, gesturing between her and Ben. "And your dad and I butted heads all of the time."

"So, you're the common factor," Tuck said. Miranda started to kick him and he jumped off of the bed and ran behind Tyra. The four of them laughed again. "Can you two get out? I'm tired."

Tyra and Tuck left the room and Ben turned to his wife. "Where were we?"

"About to go to sleep," she said turning off the light.

"Babyyy," he sang.

"What?"

"You're still mad at me?"

Miranda wasn't mad anymore. She could have been and at some point in her life, she would have held a giant grudge, but having been married to Ben all these years meant she'd learned to let some stuff go. "No," she said after a while.

"Do you still love me?" He asked, his hand sliding around his waist.

She sucked her teeth. "No." Ben's fingers tickled her side and she giggled. "Ben!"

"Do you love me?" He asked again. He kissed her arm and reached under her shirt and stroked her stomach. Miranda removed his hand and climbed on top of him. "Woah. Damn." He cupped her butt, massaging it. Miranda threw her head back as her heart raced. She slowly ground her hips on him. "Fuck!"

"Shhh!"

He shook his head. He helped her out of her shirt and pulled her down so he could kiss her breasts. "Tastes so good," he said into her chest.

"Ben," she moaned. He held onto her back and rolled them over. He pulled his pants down and slid into her. Miranda dug into his back with her nails. He groaned and kissed her deeply. "Ahhh! Jesus!"

"Miranda!" He groaned into her ear, making her wetter. Miranda kissed his cheek and neck and breathed into his ear about how much she loved him and how much he meant to her. Ben sped up and he sucked on her breasts as they both came loudly. "Shit, baby! Damn!"

There was a pounding in Miranda's stomach as the pleasure flowed through her body. "Yes, baby," she said while stroking his head. Ben stayed inside of her, kissing her softly. They rocked together slowly. "I… love you."

"I know," he told her as he kissed her cheek. Ben rolled off of her and pulled her into his chest. She could smell his soap and her face was sticking to his sweaty chest. His fingers pushed back her hair, soothing her. "You know I didn't mean it, right?" He asked with a hint of desperation.

She made circles over his ribs. "Yeah, I guess."

"You guess?

"Well, you said it so there must be some truth to it."

"Nope," he said popping the "p". "Just me being a complete idiot." She nodded. "How can I make it up to you?"

She looked up at him and watched him smile knowingly. "No, not _that_. Again."

"Then what?"

"I just want you to be more considerate. I am trying," she said honestly.

"I know you are. And I can't believe I implied otherwise. So, consider it done." She nodded and pulled the covers up to her neck.

"She needs to be punished," Ben said as he spit toothpaste into the sink.

"I know," Miranda said as put her watch on her wrist.

"I don't want her to think that what she did is appropriate."

"I know."

"You're not really listening to me," he said coming up behind her.

"I know." She smiled and turned around and kissed her husband. "I'll see you at the hospital."

"You're not going to wait for me?" He asked squeezing her hips.

"Not today. I _really_ have to go."

"Okay. See you soon." He kissed her cheek and then her lips and watched as she walked out of the door.

Downstairs, she saw Tuck usher Tyra out of the house. "Good morning, mama, I'm taking her to school."

"Good morning, Tuck." He hugged her. "Have a good day, Tyra!"

"Okay!" Tyra shouted through the closing door.

Miranda grabbed some coffee and hustled to her car. At the hospital, Miranda jumped on a case of a woman who'd fallen halfway down a mountain. She loved her work. She loved the solitariness that came with going into surgery surrounded by silent residents, she also loved the chaos of working with several other departments, each thinking what they had to do was more important than the next. But as Chief, she didn't get to operate as much as she used to. So getting on this case was a complete victory. Miranda scrubbed out after the surgery and headed to her office, happy to be finished and ready to go home. She took off her lab coat and sat behind her desk, kicking off her shoes. A knock on her door made her hurry to get decent. "Come in." Miranda looked up at the visitor and smiled. "Hello, Little Warren."

"Mom," Tyra said putting her book bag on one of the chairs in front of Miranda's desk.

"What are you doing here?"

"Tuck wanted to come by and see Auntie Callie." Miranda nodded and kicked off her shoes again and gestured for her daughter to sit down. "Am I going to get punished?""

She looked up at Tyra. "Excuse me?"

"Are you and dad going to punish me?"

"Yes," Miranda said with a smile. "We will."

"When?" Tyra pulled at the zipper on her bag. Miranda raised her eyebrow. "When am I going to know?"

Miranda clasped her hands together. "Why?" She looked at her daughter who was trying not to make eye contact. "Tyra?"

"Because I'd like to go out with my friends this weekend."

"Oh, well, kiss that goodbye. Tell them you'll see them in a month."

"A MONTH!?"

"Yes, school skipper." She laughed and closed the file in front of her, putting it into a pile on her right. "And I just made that up; your father will probably have a different opinion." The girl groaned and pushed her bag onto the floor. "Pick it up."

She grumbled and put the bag on her lap. "But!"

"But what?"

"I thought y'all said two weeks." Miranda smiled and turned her attention back to her work. "Ma?"

"Yes, baby."

"K-K-Kevin kind of…"

"Kind of?" Miranda pried, already knowing what the girl was about to say.

"He asked me out?" Tyra said quickly.

"Excuse me?" Miranda rolled her chair around her desk and moved in front of her daughter.

"Well… when Tuck dropped me off, he told me to point out Kevin. And I did. Then he left me in the car and walked over to Kevin."

"Then what?"

"I don't know what Tuck said to him, but during gym, he didn't mess with me. He passed me a note."

Miranda heard her phone vibrate. "Hold on one second." She tapped out a reply and put the phone back on her desk. "Okay, so what did this note say?" Tyra reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "I didn't even know you kids still sent notes. I figured it would be all text messages and IMs."

"You mean DMs?" Tyra asked laughing.

"Whatever." Miranda took the paper and read: _Your brother is scary_. "This is all he wrote?"

"Turn it over." The smile in Tyra's eyes made Miranda's heart burst. This was a chapter in her life that she wasn't totally ready for—her daughter dating. She dreaded talking to Ben about this because he would not be as receptive. She inhaled and let go of a deep breath. Miranda turned it over: _So?_

"What in the world am I—"

"Here." Tyra took out another piece of paper.

"This one says: 'Do you want to go to the movies?'" Miranda looked at her daughter and grinned. "Aww."

"I think he likes me."

"Uh, you think?" Miranda tapped the girl's knee.

"So can I go… with him?"

"Sure!"

"Really!? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you."

"Right, when you get off of punishment." Miranda laughed and rolled herself back behind her desk.

"I think a month is good," Ben said rubbing his eyes.

"I thought so," Miranda nodded. The two of them climbed into bed. "I am so hungry."

"You didn't eat?"

She shook her head. "Didn't feel like it."

"So you're complaining now?"

"Yes," she said rolling against his back.

"And you want me to go and get you something to eat?"

"I married you for a reason." Ben kissed the back of her hand and got out of bed. Miranda sat up in the bed and picked up the book that was sitting on her nightstand.

"Mama?" Tuck asked.

"Yes?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure thing. You are my favorite son," she said putting her book down.

"I think I'm your only son," he said. He sat on Ben's side of the bed and lifted his feet up. Miranda waited. "Did Ty tell you about what happened today?"

"Yeah, she said something about you and the boy having an impromptu conversation." Tuck laughed. "Did you?"

"Maybe."

Miranda pursed her lips. "Well, what did you say?"

"Nothing," he said tossing his hands up.

"Nothing like what?"

"Nothing like I told him to either leave Tyra the hell alone or to tell her how he genuinely feels."

"William George!" She screeched.

"Miranda!" He mimicked her voice and they burst out laughing.

"Watch it."

"Sorry."

"If she finds out that you threatened that boy, she may never forgive you."

"He got her into trouble, ma."

"I know," Miranda said waving him off.

"But he told me that he really does like her, so she'll get over it when she's necking with him in the hallway in front of her boyfriend-less friends."

Miranda laughed. "You're a bad boy. Go to your room."

"Okay." He kissed her cheek and walked out of the room as Ben walked in.

"Do I get one?" Ben asked and tapped his cheek.

"Goodnight, dad," Tuck said patting the older man on the back.

Ben handed Miranda a plate with leftover lasagna on it. "Thank you, husband."

"You're welcome, wife." Miranda ate with Ben occasionally picking up her fork and eating some. "What else?"

"What do you mean 'what else'?"

"With Tyra and her punishment."

"N-nothing. Why would you think that?"

"Because I'm not an idiot. I know you and I know my children."

"Fine."

"Thank you."

"Tyra likes the boy. Kevin. Tuck met the boy. The boy likes Ty."

"And?" Ben egged.

"He wants to…" She ate a little more and put her plate on top of her book that was on the nightstand. Her eyes met his and she widened them.

"No."

"Ben…"

"No."

"Fine. I'm going to sleep."

"We're not finished discussing this," Ben argued.

"We were finished when you simply said 'no' and ended said discussion."

"Well, I—"

"Goodnight, Benjamin," Miranda said turning over. She felt him move behind her and smiled.

"Goodnight, Miranda."

Miranda woke up early and threw back the covers. "Where are you going?" Ben asked.

"Shh, go back to sleep," Miranda said. As she put on her robe, she heard him snoring again. She went to Tuck's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in," he said. She opened the door and walked in to see him at his desk. "Good morning, ma."

She sat down on the edge of his bed, pushing clothes off of his bed. How in the world did she raise such a mess? "Why are you up so early?" She asked. She knew her son; he always slept as late as he could.

"I just had some work to do. I would usually wait until the last second, but I'm trying not to procrastinate this semester." She laughed. "What's up?"

"Nothing. I can't talk to my son one-on-one? See how he's doing? Why he's here?"

He smirked. "Of course you can."

"So?" The mother asked lying back on the bed.

"School is good. Frat is good. Roommates are—"

"Good?" She offered.

"Yeah."

"What about Tania?" Miranda asked referring to Tuck's girlfriend. She'd met the girl quite a few times. Tuck loved to bring her around. And, surprisingly, Miranda even liked the girl.

"She's good, too. Great actually."

"'Great'? Hmm." He confirmed. "Does your dad know you're here?"

"No."

"Did you tell him you were coming?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Tuck sighed. "Because I haven't heard from him in like two weeks, so…" Miranda nodded and didn't push it. His relationship with Tucker, her ex-husband, had nothing to do with her, mostly. Tuck closed his laptop and walked over to the bed and slid next to his mother. "Mama?"

"Yeah, son?" He pulled his lips in and looked at her. She knew that look. When he was younger, they'd discovered that he sometimes had a hard time communicating. So, Miranda started to give him prompts that helped him formulate his thoughts and express his feelings. "Okay," she inhaled. "What is it that you want to do—while you're here?"

He looked over at her. "I want to tell you something."

"Okay."

"And I don't want you to be mad or freak out."

"I will do my best," she said with her heart pounding. What in God's name was he about to say?

"Tania and I are getting married," he said.

Miranda gasped. "What?"

Tuck nodded. "Yep, I proposed. She said yes."

"W-when!? H-how? Why… why didn't you tell us, Tuck? Oh, my God!" She leaned over and hugged her son, tightening her grip on him.

"You're not mad?"

"Mad? I'm happy!" She said as tears came to her eyes.

"Really? But you're crying."

"Because I'm happy." Miranda pulled away and touched his face, looking at him. Suddenly, he looked older and wiser.

"And you're not mad?"

"No, but why didn't you talk to us? Why didn't you talk to me?" She found herself touching her wedding ring.

"Because I thought you guys might try to talk me out of it. Or you would approve so much that I'd get scared. I love her."

"I know you do, baby," she said touching his cheek. "I know." She hoped that he would ready for this journey because it was a journey. Even now, after having done it twice, marriage was still hard. All she could do now was support him and pray that she'd raised a strong enough man to handle what was about to come his way. Miranda wiped away her tears.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you guys sooner."

"You're not married, are you?"

Tuck giggled. There was her 7-year old. "No, ma'am." The two of them laughed loudly.

The door swung open. "What's going on?" Tyra asked. Miranda looked at Tuck and they both cracked up. "Dad! Mom and Tuck are scaring me."

Ben came out of the bedroom, seeing him shirtless, Miranda's heart sped up. They'd been together for so long, but he still turned her on. "What?" He asked rubbing his eyes.

"They keep laughing and it's weirding me out," Tyra said crossing her arms.

"What's the big idea?" Ben said leaning against the threshold and closing his eyes.

Miranda looked over at Tuck and they laughed some more. "Oh, I'm just… getting married." Tyra's mouth dropped open and Ben didn't respond. "Dad!"

"What's up?" Ben said opening his eyes quickly.

"Tuck's getting married!" Tyra said jumping on the bed.

"What!?" Ben yelled. "He's not. No, he's not. You're not!" He looked from person to person.

"I am. I proposed to Tania and she accepted and we're getting married."

"My boy!" Ben said. Miranda looked at her husband and watched tears form in his eyes. He walked over to the bed and held out his hand. Tuck got off of it and shook Ben's hand, they hugged. Ben kissed the side of Tuck's head.

"You're getting married?" Tyra asked. Tuck nodded. "Oh."

"Oh?" Tuck repeated.

Tyra twisted her lips to the side. "Yeah, now you won't have that much time for me. And you'll spend all your time with Tania. And you won't buy me things."

"Conceited, party of one," Tuck said. Miranda and Ben laughed. "Plus you like Tania."

"Yeah, so?" Tyra said.

"So, you know I wouldn't do this or anything if I thought you'd be hurt by it." The girl made a noise. Tuck rolled his eyes and look at his parents. "And, of course, I'll still buy you stuff."

"Then… yay!" The girl climbed into the bed and hugged her older brother.

"I love you, too, babe," Tuck said smiling into the phone. Miranda shook her head. When did he grow up? Wasn't it just yesterday that he was sitting in her office because he'd gotten into a fight at school? Tuck disconnected the call and tossed his phone onto the coffee table. He jumped when he saw his mother. "Spying on me?"

"No. Just walking through my house."

He laughed. "And before you ask, yes, I do know what I'm doing."

"I wasn't going to say anything."

Tuck raised an eyebrow. He smirked as she sat on the arm of her sofa. "Don't think I don't know you. I have your eyes." A lump appeared in her throat as she tried to avoid those brown eyes. She'd spoiled him for so long because when his eyes begged, she felt the need to oblige. Besides, he was such a good kid, and with divorced mother guilt, turning him down for anything didn't seem like an option. "I love her. I'm ready."

She nodded slowly, trying to lose the lump. "I know you've done your research and you know about kids your age and marriage and—"

"Mama."

"Yes, son?"

"All I have to do is to look at you and dad." Miranda swallowed. "You two have shown me all I need to know about love and marriage."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

She wiped away a tear. "Yes, I trust you."

Miranda sat next to her husband, both of them focused on different projects. Her feet lay across his lap. Every so often, he would swipe his finger across the bottom of them, disturbing her and making her giggle. "Stop," she said not really wanting him to.

"Fine." He pushed her feet off of his lap. Miranda pouted. "Ugh, put your feet back."

"Thank you," Miranda smiled. "Did you know?" She asked after a while.

"About what, hon?"

"Tuck?"

Ben shook his head. "I had no idea."

She turned to him and raised her eyebrow. "So…"

"So?"

"Why weren't you talking with him to see how serious his relationship was with Tania?" She cocked her head and stared him.

"Don't start."

"No, I mean, you said something about me and Ty. Let's hear about you and Tuck." He didn't say anything. "I'm waiting."

Ben sighed deeply. "Miranda…"

"No, how could you not know?" Ben started to turn red, embarrassed. "And why didn't you talk to him?"

"I just didn't know."

"Marriage is such a big deal and we didn't know anything about it."

" _I_ didn't know anything about it, Miranda!" His forehead was wrinkled and his nose was flared.

"You should have called him more often so that he would have told us that he was ready to get f-married!" She shouted. She sat up and got off of the bed. He reached for her, but she was already out of the door.

"Miranda!"

"You and dad still at it?" Tuck's voice made her jump. He was sitting in the living room, his eyes glued to the screen. Tyra was on the sofa next to him.

"No," Miranda lied.

"Doesn't sound like you're telling the truth, ma," Tyra said.

"Doesn't sound like you're minding your business," she told her daughter. The girl's mouth dropped open. Tuck reached over and closed her mouth. Miranda let go of a smile as her children cracked up.

"Baby!" Ben said coming down the stairs. Miranda scurried into the kitchen. "Hey, kids." They murmured greetings. "Miranda!"

She lapped the house and made her way upstairs, ignoring her husband's yells. In her bedroom, she propped her pillows up and got comfortable. She flipped through the channels with the remote control. Ben came into the room with two sandwiches on a plate. She rolled her eyes and picked up one of the sandwiches and took a bite. "Can we start over?" Miranda shook her head. "Please?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I said something that wasn't… and I'm sorry."

Miranda didn't answer. She bit her sandwich again. "I know. And I said that I'd forgiven you."

"But you hadn't."

"I have," she admitted. "I just wanted to give you a real taste of your own medicine. And counter with your relationship with Tuck."

"You're an evil woman."

"You're an aggravating man."

"It's in my job description."

She laughed. "That is so true." He touched her stomach, about to tickle her. "No, okay!" She squealed.

When they finished their sandwiches, Miranda put her head on Ben's chest. He kissed her hair. "I love you."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she said.

He lifted her chin and they looked at each other. "Say it."

"You're not the boss of me."

"Say it," he said still holding on to her chin.

She smiled. "I love you."

He kissed her softly. "I thought so."

"Don't leave," Tyra whined as Tuck picked up his bag.

"I have to, Baby," he said kissing her head.

"Fine." Tyra turned up her face and sat at the bottom of the stairs.

"Tell dad I'll call him later," he said turning to Miranda.

"I will."

"And you," Tuck said looking at Tyra. "If Kevin gives you any problems, let me know."

"Mom! Tell him to stop!" Tyra shouted. The girl growled.

Miranda giggled. "Tuck."

"Okay, okay, but seriously." He looked at his phone. "I gotta go."

"Bye, Tuck," Tyra said hugging him one last time and running up the stairs.

"Okay, sweetie. Get going."

Tuck hugged her and put his hand on the knob. He turned around and faced her. "Thank you for understanding, ma." Miranda twisted her lips to the side. "You do understand, right?"

"I do. I do. I just wish you would have told us—told me."

"I know. I know." He sat down on the stairs and Miranda sat next to him. "It happened so fast. She was there and she was looking so pretty. Ma, you should have seen her."

Miranda's eyes burned. "Is that right?"

He nodded. "And we'd looked at rings before, playfully, you know, just like 'ha, ha, if we were to get married'. She picked out a ring and so I bought it one day and surprised her with it."

"Oh my goodness," Miranda mouthed.

"It was simple. Just me and her. She cried. I cried. It was sweet. Intimate."

"I swear to God, boy, if you get married without me, I will disown you," she threatened.

He leaned against her, putting his head on her shoulder. "I won't. I promise."

"Good." She hugged him again. "Alright, son, get on the road. And be safe." She stood by the door and watched as Tuck got into his car and drove away. Her eyes stung with hot tears and she closed the door and meandered up the stairs.

A few hours later, Ben came home. "The boy is gone?" She nodded, stuffing a pillow under her head. "You miss him?"

"No."

"Yes, you do."

"Shut up."

"I miss him, too." Ben took off his shirt and climbed into the bed with her. "I like when he comes home."

"Me, too," she sighed.

"Are we okay?" Ben said, dropping his head gently on Miranda's stomach. He kissed it. Her heart fluttered.

"Yeah, we're okay."

"More than okay?"

"Yes, definitely."

"Good."

Soon Miranda heard snoring. She snuck out of bed and tiptoed to her daughter's room. She heard giggling. Miranda would bet anything that the girl was on the phone even though she was on punishment. Miranda waited a second before busting the girls' chops. "No, I don't," Tyra was saying. "I don't like you _like that_." So she was probably talking to Kevin. "Mmmaybe a little. Not a lot though." Silence. "H-hold on one second, Kevin." Miranda touched the door, ready to push it open. "YESSSSS! Yes!" The surgeon pushed the door open and saw her daughter sitting cross-legged on the bed, beaming. She jumped when she saw Miranda. "Ma!"

"Aren't you on punishment?"

"Y-y-es, ma'am."

"Mmmhmm. Is that Kevin you're talking to?"

The girl's mouth dropped open. "Yes."

"I know all. Remember that, little girl." Tyra giggled. "Hang up."

"But…"

"I know. He'll still be there when you get off of punishment."

Tyra started to respond, but saw the look her mother was giving her. "Okay."

"Okay, goodnight."

"Goodnight, mom." Miranda kissed her daughter's head and walked toward the door, picking up a shirt and tossing it to a chair in the corner of the room before leaving.

Ben was doing pushups when she came went back in their room. "Where'd you go?"

"Your daughter might have a boyfriend when she gets off of punishment."

"I'll kill him."

"You don't even know him, Ben!"

"And I don't want to."

"You know what? I'm going to bed," Miranda laughed, sinking into her mattress.

"She's 14, Miranda."

"Exactly. I had at least two boyfriends at that age."

"At the same time?" Ben asked sliding onto the bed and kissing up her body. She squirmed. "You kinky little…"

"No!" She slapped his arm, playfully. "But don't make this a big deal."

"It is a big deal."

"I know! But you need to get on board."

"Oh, I'll get on board."

"You will?"

"Right after I get on top of you," he said, straddling her. She laughed. Miranda held her husband's back. She skimmed his muscles with her fingertips, memorizing his body.

"I love fighting with you," she told him suddenly.

"Really?" He rolled off of her and made a face.

"Yeah. Because we always work it out. We always come to an agreement or a compromise and I love that about us."

"Awww, baby." Ben kissed her passionately. "I agree."

"And you're like the only person I know who can match me verbally."

"You know that's right," he chuckled. His wife joined him.

Miranda and Ben forgot about sex. They chatted late into the night. Ben told her about a talk he had with Tuck and Miranda filled him in on her conversation with the 23-year old. They debated for an hour about Tyra dating and reminiscing about their first girlfriends and boyfriends. Occasionally, they stopped talking and started to kiss heavily, touching each other, tempting each other. Miranda giggled loudly. "What? What?"

"Nothing. I'm just… giddy."

"Giddy?" He looked confused.

"Yeah, I'm drunk from making out." Her eyes fluttered closed. "But I'm glad that we have an understanding and that we're good."

"We are good," Ben repeated, pushing up her shirt.

"So good," Miranda answered. Her husband touched her stomach softly. She exhaled. They fought. It'd been tough. It hadn't been totally been malicious, but she'd felt her motherhood being attacked. That was a sensitive subject for her because there were times when she was self-conscious about it. She wanted to raise healthy and happy kids. And she thought she'd done well considering her chosen career, but then an issue like the one with Tyra would arise and she'd question her job as a parent. She looked over at her husband. He hadn't meant any harm. In fact, his accusation was probably more about his relationship with Tyra than the mother and daughter's. She'd tell him about that later.

"Okay. What are you thinking about?"

She shook her head. "I'm a good mother, right?"

"The best."

"Thanks."

"But you didn't need me to tell you that."

"I know, but I like to hear it from time to time," she admitted. "Especially from you."

"Miranda." He put his arms around her and hugged her. A genuine hug. He rubbed her back and put his face into her shoulder. She pulled away first. He held her face and looked at her. "You are an excellent mother and an amazing wife. We really couldn't have done any better, baby."

"I know that's right." She smiled and leaned in to kiss him.

"I love you, woman."

"I guess you want me to say it back," she said pursing her lips. He raised an eyebrow, patient. "I love you." They lie back in the bed. Miranda was content. Her children were growing and they were living their lives and making her so proud. And in her arms was the man who'd promised her the world and even when he was annoying her, was giving it to her, one day at a time.

-The End-


End file.
